Sled-runner roller.



W. E. BUTE.

SLED RUNNER ROLLER. APPLICATION FILED rurm'o. 191s.

1,22%882D Patented May 29, 1917.

Invenfar Mimi iv/M Z m gwolgfi UNltTlED TATE it AQllENT FFXQEG WILLIAM E. BUTE. OF STANHOPE, IOWA.

SLED-RUNNER ROLLER.

Application filed August 30, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. Born, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Stanhope, in the county of Hamilton and State of Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Sled-Runner Roller, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a means whereby a bob sled such as is used for hauling goods or persons may be hauled over ground, pavement, or bridges on which there is neither snow nor ice.

A further object is to provide a sledrunner which may be'used as such where the road way is suitable for sleighing, but havous parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the sled embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 shows an enlarged side elevation of the roller and bearing.

Fig. 3 shows a vertical sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, I have used the reference numeral to indicate generally the wooden portion of a sledrunner of ordinary construction on which is mounted a shoe or steel runner 11. At intervals in the lower edge of the shoe 11, a transverse substantially round hole is made having at its upper extremity a narrow transverse groove. Mounted in this opening is a substantially round bearing 12 which is of such a size that its outside surface rests against the inside surface of the openings in the shoe and a flange extends upwardly through the upper surface of the bearing centrally thereof and is adapted to fit very closely into the transverse groove previously described. Mounted within the bearing is a roller 14 which. extends slightly below the lower surface of the shoe and is adapted to rotate within the hearing.

A plate 15 is fixed on each side of the shoe adjacent to the ends of the rollers and adapted to prevent both the roller and the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 29, 1917.

Serial No. 117,672.

bearing sliding out from the shoe laterally. The plates 15 are held in place by screws 16 so that they may be removed when it is desired to drive the bearing or roller out of the shoe in order that the latter may be replaced or for any other purpose.

A grease cup 17 is mounted on the upper side of the wooden portion of the runner and has hollow cylinder 18 extending downwardly through the wooden portion and the steel shoeto the bearing 12. The lower end of the cylinder 18 opens onto the roller 14. so as to provide suflicient lubrication for preventing the roller from binding in the bearing 12. The grease cup 17 is provided with the screw cap 19 or similar device for forcing a'suiiicient amount of the lubricant into the bearing.

It will be noted that the bearing 12 does not cover a complete circle so that the lower surface of the roller 1 1 may extend slightly below the surface of the shoe, thereby presenting a rolling contact with the road to travel along the ground when the ground is of such a character that the surface of the shoe will not slide upon it easily. It will also be noted that the center of the roller, and consequently its greatest width is somewhat above the lower surface of the shoe proper so that the converging sides of the bearing 1.2 will prevent the roller from falling downwardly and that the bearing is held into the shoe in the same manner.

An advantage of this device is that on a road that is kept up in proper shape, the improved form of sled may travel over any portion of it during weather when there is enough snow on the ground to make sleighing good in a greater part of any such road. It is well known that where there are pavements the snow will be melted off long before it is on dirt roads and that in certain places such as bridges and the central city pavements, the snow is off in a very short time after it falls and unless some device is provided whereby the sled may proceed over bare surfaces its usefulness will be largely diminished.

Another advantage in my device is that the roller does not interfere to any appreciable extent with the slide of the balance of the runner over the snow or ice, and yet it is always ready for service when required. Another advantage is that when installed, this device needs no further adjustments.

It will be understood that some changes may be made in the details of the construction of my sled runner roller, and it is my intention to cover by this application any changes which may be included within the scope of the following claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a device of the class described, a sled runner, a shoe thereon having a transverse groove in its lower surface, and bearing mounted in the groove having a portion of its periphery below the lower surface of the shoe cut away, and a roller mounted in the bearing so that .it extends below the lower surface of the shoe.

2. In a device of the class described a sled runner, and shoe thereon having a transverse groove in its lower surface-with upwardly diverging sides, bearing slidably mounted in said groove, said bearing being of such shape that its outer surface registers with the inner surface of the groove and having its axis slightlyabove the plane of the lower surface of the shoe yet having the portion extending below said plane cut away, roller slidably androtatably mounted in said hearing so that it extends slightly below the lower surface of the sh0e,and'a plate detachably fixed to each side of theshoe and covering suflicient of the ends of the bearing and roller so that they cannot slide out of place.

3. In a device of the class described a sled runner, and shoe thereon having a transverse groove with upwardly diverging sides in its lower surface, a second transverse groove running across the top of the first described groove, bearing slidably received in the said groove of such shape that its outside surface registers with the inside surface of the said grooves, roller mounted in said bearing and extending below the lower surface of the shoe, and detachable means for holding the bearing and roller in place.

4. A sled runner having in its lower surface portion a recess for receiving the greater portion of the body of a roller, and forming a'bearing therefor, a roller in said recess having a portion projecting outwardly from said recess at the bottom of the runner, and a detachable side plate mounted on said runner for holding said roller against sidewise removal from the runner.

Des Moines, Iowa, August 22, 1916.

WILLIAM E. BUTE.

Witnesses J AOOB DICK, MARTIN OLSSON.

Copiesof this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

